


shadows of the absent

by Doranwen



Category: Gold Diggers (1995)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Double Drabble, Gen, Nightmares, References to Canon-Level Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:40:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23491837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doranwen/pseuds/Doranwen
Summary: Jody has nightmares again.
Kudos: 7





	shadows of the absent

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working so long on the Yahoo Groups Fandom Rescue Project (and some real life things) that I haven't written in ages. I think my muse got a bit annoyed; I watched bits of my favorite childhood film tonight and suddenly I had a plot bunny that I ended up dashing off in a few minutes. Partly due to re-reading [this fantastic gift I received](http://archiveofourown.org/works/20464328) awhile back and imagining Jody's POV of that AU scenario. It ended up rather angsty but I love writing angst, so. To the tiny handful of people who will read it, I hope you enjoy! :)
> 
> You should read the other fic first because it sets the scenario out more clearly, but if you haven't, here's your warning that I'm about to spoil you: In this version of the story, Ray really does die when Jody attacks him, and the rocks never fall on Beth and the boat.

She wakes, gasping, opening her eyes wide, but it takes much longer for the images in her mind to fade. It was the scene in the woods again. She's running to get away, Ray falls down, blood pours out of his belly… She approaches him, calling his name. But this time his eyes open up and stare straight into hers. "Got you," he hisses and reaches forward as she wakes up.

She shivers and clutches the hammock tighter around her.

She tries to pretend that she's just spending the night at her condo, that tomorrow she will go home and hang out with Beth again. But she can't lie to herself; she knows she can never go home. And she has years before she can safely leave, go somewhere no one will know of Jody Salerno, who vanished one night from Wheaton, Washington. Years before her face will be different enough, before she will be old enough to not attract the cops' notice. And Beth can't visit for a couple days; her mom's watching her too closely, afraid she'll disappear next.

Jody vows to search for the gold again tomorrow. She closes her eyes once more and tries to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> It's interesting how one's perceptions of a film can change over time. As a child, all I saw was the friendship angle, with an "us against the world" feel, and I still love that as much as I did then. But watching it this evening, I realized just how dark the story really is underneath the happy spin and too-perfect ending. I mean, they didn't believe Jody or Beth until they saw Lynette's injuries! Had Ray not become obsessed with the gold, how long would he have continued to abuse Lynette without anyone believing that it was happening? And if she hadn't tried to stop him from taking Jody to go for the gold and gotten injured, would Beth's mom or the sheriff have figured out what was going on? (Because not all mothers of children even try to protect their kids from abusers.) And if you go by the statistics, Jody had a reasonably high chance of being a target for the abuse as well. Beth was the **only** person in Jody's life she could actually trust, the only one, which is kind of heartwrenching. (It's even sadder to think of all the real children who go through it and don't have anyone to turn to.) Given all that, angst makes absolute perfect sense for this fandom.


End file.
